So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herds or mine, because we are close relatives.  Is not the whole land before you?  Let’s part company.  If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; If you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”  Genesis 13:8-9 (NIV)

There are people who walk along beside us in our lives.  They are a great blessing to us, as we are to them.  Then, we come to a fork in the road and they go one way and we go another … we take separate paths.

People come into our lives at different times for different reasons—to teach us, to help us, or to mature us.  Each leaves their imprint on our soul—some more than others.

This parting of ways can be sweet, bittersweet, or even heartbreaking.

The sooner we accept this as a natural part of life, the sooner we will be able to open our hearts to others who will join us on our path.  Some will walk with us for a lifetime, but others will not.

Be assured that we will, again, come to a fork in the road.  It is at this crossroad that we learn to let go of what was and embrace what is.

It is here that we learn to look forward to what God has in store for us, even if it is not fully in our view.

We learn to walk by faith, trusting God’s goodness and His wisdom.  And, we learn to be thankful for those who have walked along beside us, for those who are walking with us today, and for those who will join us at our next fork in the road.